1999 Edition
Part I of II

CHAPTER FOUR

THE BIBLE SOCIETIES AND ECUMENISM

It should come as no surprise by now that the Bible societies are in the very center of today’s unscriptural ecumenical movement. The Bible societies’ policy regarding cooperation with various Christian bodies was outlined in a booklet published by the American Bible Society in 1970.

“At that time there were 49 constituent member societies, each being fully autonomous in its own country and sharing with all the others in formulating global policy. ... Referring to the interdenominational character of the Bible societies, the article states that ‘their sole concern is to recruit every believer, WHATEVER HIS PRIVATE CREED MAY BE,’ to join in the urgent task of proclaiming the Gospel in every tongue. ... The Societies ‘endeavor to serve the whole Church of Christ IRRESPECTIVE OF denominational divisions and CREDAL [DOCTRINAL] DISTINCTIONS’“ (Trinitarian Bible Society Quarterly Record, Jan.-Mar. 1979, pp. 13-14).

The Bible societies have thus acknowledged that they are unconcerned about doctrinal beliefs. How strange for those who publish the Bible to be unconcerned about the teachings of the Bible!

Illustrations of the ecumenical activities of the Bible societies and heretical beliefs of its members are easy to find. We have already considered the doctrinal heresy of several of the Bible societies translators and leaders. A few more examples will emphasize the point.

“Norwegian theologian Gunnar Johan Stalsett, 50, is the new general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation. ... He has been general secretary of the Norwegian Bible Society. ... He is a member of the central and executive committees of the World Council of Churches, and of the general and executive committees of the United Bible Societies” (Ecumenical Press Service, Feb. 10-12, 1985).

Here we have a man who is a leader in the United Bible Societies and at the same time a leader in the totally apostate World Council of Churches.

In most countries, you will find the Bible societies in the very center of any ecumenical adventure, especially in national councils and fellowships. Hundreds of examples could be given. Consider the following:

“The ecumenical Council of Churches in Jamaica includes Anglicans, Baptists, Roman Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, United Church of Jamaica, Moravians, Salvation Army, Disciples of Christ, African Methodist Episcopal, Quakers, Church Women United, YMCA, YWCA, Student Christian Movement, and the Bible Society of the West Indies” (Foundation, Volume V, Issue 1, 1984, p. 19).

Here we have an illustration of today’s ecumenism at work in Jamaica. In one happy pot we see Catholics with their multitudes of heresies, Baptists, Anglicans, Disciples of Christ (who, like the Anglicans and Catholics, teach baptismal regeneration), pacifistic Quakers with their strange doctrines and practices based on mysticism and emotion, the revolutionary World Council of Churches’ Church Women United, the radical Student Christian Movement which is almost wholly given over to liberation theology, and right in the midst of this theological confusion is the Bible Society.

According to the policy statement quoted earlier, the Bible societies ignore the doctrinal beliefs of the various denominations in order to proclaim the gospel as widely as possible. While it’s a wonderful thing to preach the gospel, we must ask, “What gospel are you preaching?” The Bible warns that there are false gospels and that these false gospels result in cursing, not blessing (2 Cor. 11:1-4; Gal. 1:6-8). If we ignore the doctrinal beliefs of those with whom we work it is impossible to fulfill Christ’s Great Commission. The will of Christ is that only the one true gospel of grace alone be proclaimed, but many groups with whom the Bible societies work preach false gospels. Many of the Bible societies’ own leaders preach false gospels. Further, the Great Commission does not end with the proclamation of the gospel. Those who believe are to be taught “all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:18-20). How can we do this when we are working with those who teach doctrines that are contrary to Christ’s commands!

Another illustration of the Bible societies’ ecumenical endeavors is seen in the following report of a meeting of the American Bible Society:

“[The American Bible Society meeting was] one of the most widely representative Christian gatherings in the U.S.A., or possibly in the entire world and included a Roman Catholic archbishop as speaker and on panel had a Seventh-day Adventist. There were representatives from 46 different denominations, including Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox and even a Christian Scientist” (Plains Baptist Challenger, Sept. 1982).

Notice that a Christian Scientist attended this American Bible Society meeting. Christian Scientists deny practically every teaching of the Bible. They deny the Triune God, the deity of Christ, the inspiration, preservation and sufficiency of Scripture, the reality of Heaven and Hell and the Devil; they deny the fallen condition of man and his need for the new birth; they deny that Jesus Christ died for man’s sins.

Greek Orthodox

Notice, too, that Greek Orthodox attended the American Bible Society meeting. The Bible societies often work closely with Greek Orthodox churches. For those not be familiar with the teachings of the Orthodox Church, consider that Orthodoxy preaches a false gospel. According to Orthodox teaching, baptism (even of infants) is the means whereby an individual is born into Christ and becomes a Christian. This false gospel is quoted from one of their publications:

“Baptism is a new birth. It is being born to the life made new by our Lord Jesus Christ. It means to be alive in Christ. ... Through Holy Baptism all become Christ’s. We become Christians and have the opportunity to inherit God’s Kingdom. Why in the world would any parents who claim to be Christians want to put off making their offspring Christians as soon as possible? Don’t they want their infants to share in the Kingdom of God? The baptized one becomes a member of Christ’s body—His Church” (One Church, Russian Orthodox Church, 1981).

The Orthodox Church also advocates prayers to and for the dead, and the false idea that the living can aid in the salvation of the deceased through good works:

“But the soul of the deceased is aided by the prayers of the Church, of all those who knew and loved him, and also by acts of charity carried out for his sake. By doing good works for the sake of those who are dead, we are, as it were, completing what they left undone, paying their debts and offering our own sacrifice to the Merciful Lord on their behalf” (The Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate, No. 10, 1976).

In the Journal of the Moscow Patriarchate, No. 4, 1980, we find the following false teachings about Mary, salvation, and the Lord’s Supper:

“When one asserts his faith in the Son of God, the Son of the Ever Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, [note the false Catholic doctrines that Mary is the Mother of God and a perpetual virgin, meaning that she had no other children after Jesus] he accepts first of all the words of faith into his heart, confesses them orally, sincerely repents of his former sins and washes them away in the sacrament of Baptism. Then God the Word enters the baptized one, as though into the womb of the Blessed Virgin and remains in him like a seed. ... By partaking of the Holy Eucharist, a Christian is made one with Christ” (Foundation, Nov.-Dec. 1980, p. 21).

From these quotes, it is obvious that the Orthodox Church is heretical. It holds many of the same false beliefs as the Roman Catholic Church from which it divided in the ninth century.

Michael Ramsey

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Michael Ramsey was a president of the United Bible Societies. This man denied many of the Bible’s teachings and was a leader in the back-to-Rome movement in the Church of England. He was president of the United Bible Societies when their conference was held in Driebergen in Holland in 1964.

“[This] Conference encouraged the preparation of a common text [referring to a joint endeavor between the United Bibles Societies and the Roman Catholic Church] in the original languages, and common translations of the Bible that may be published either in common [with the Roman Catholic Church] or separately as circumstances may require” (“The Bible Societies,” Trinitarian Bible Society Quarterly Record, Jan.-Mar. 1979, pp. 13-14).

In 1966, two years after this Bible society conference, Archbishop Ramsey, who was also one of the World Council of Churches presidents, made a visit to the Pope in an effort to rebuild bridges to Rome. Apart from Ramsey’s predecessor, Geoffrey Fisher, no Archbishop of Canterbury had called on a Pope since 1397, long before Henry VIII broke with Rome. Ramsey addressed the Pope as, “Your Holiness, dear brother in Christ,” and said, “It is only as the world sees us Christians growing visibly in unity that it will accept through us the divine message of peace.” Pope Paul described the meeting as a rebuilding of “a bridge that for centuries had lain fallen between the Church of Rome and Canterbury; a bridge of respect, of esteem and charity.” The two men sealed the symbolic reconciliation of the denominations by a “kiss of peace”—actually an embrace. The Anglican bishops and clergy of Canterbury’s retinue bowed to kiss the Pope’s ring (Don Stanton, Mystery Babylon, Secunderabad: Maranatha Revival Crusade, April 1981).

The following year, 1967, Ramsey visited the United States. At one meeting in Little Rock, Arkansas, he mentioned his meeting with the Pope and described it in this way:

“The Pope and I walked arm in arm out in St. Peter’s Basilica and there we bowed and dedicated ourselves in a common dedication, the task of unifying the church. We did not mean we were going to unify the Anglican Church and the Catholic Church only, but we meant we were going to unify all Christendom and all the churches of the world. By unifying them, we did not mean just establishing diplomatic recognition among denominations, but we were going to unify all of them into one church. That is the task that is before us today, to unify all Christendom into the Holy Catholic Church” (Michael Ramsey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, speaking at Christ Episcopal Church, Little Rock, Arkansas, Sept. 15, 1967, quoted by M.L. Moser, Jr., Ecumenicalism Under the Spotlight, Challenge Press, pp. 22-23).

In 1972, Ramsey made ecclesiastical history by preaching in Manhattan’s Roman Catholic St. Patrick’s Cathedral at a service attended by Catholic Cardinal Terence Cook and Archbishop Lakovos of the Greek Orthodox Church of North and South America. The Archbishop commented, “I can foresee the day when all Christians might accept the Pope as the Presiding Bishop” (Stanton, op. cit.).

Ramsey’s unscriptural ecumenical activities illustrate the things that are happening in the United Bible Societies.

Michael Ramsey “denied the Virgin Birth of Christ, and said, ‘Heaven is not a place for Christians only. ... I expect to see many present day atheists there’“ (Daily Mail, London, Feb. 10, 1961).

Ramsey was pleased when a meeting was held in 1968 and the majority of 460 bishops of the Church of England voted that it is no longer required that leaders in the denomination be required to believe the Church’s doctrinal statement. The Thirty-nine Articles of Religion have been the doctrinal backbone of Anglicanism across the centuries. The Religious News Service, August 30, 1968, reported the action taken by the 1968 Lambeth Conference in London:

“Assent to the 39 Articles—the Church of England’s code of doctrine—is no longer to be required for clergy ordination. ... The decision was taken when the 460 Bishops—not without some division—approved an amendment to a resolution moved by Bishop George Luxton of Huron, Canada. He called assent to the Articles ‘theological smog’ and ‘double talk’. ARCHBISHOP MICHAEL RAMSEY, titular head of the Church [and president of the United Bible Societies], SAID HE ‘WAS VERY GLAD’ THAT THE CONFERENCE HAD ENDORSED THE ‘VALUABLE REPORT’ drawn by the Commission AND THAT HE, HIMSELF, ‘TOOK A RATHER MORE RADICAL LINE THAT THE REPORT DID’“ (Harold Lindsell, The Battle for the Bible, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1980).

The picture that emerges is this: While undermining the doctrinal position of this own denomination, Ramsey was busy trying to bring it under bondage to the oppressive Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches. With men such as this at the helm, you can understand why the United Bible Societies have taken an unscriptural direction in this century.

The Bible societies distribute pamphlets of Scripture selections on various subjects, but I have yet to see one entitled “Scriptural Separation: Beware of False Teachers!” A lengthy pamphlet could be published containing Scripture passages dealing with this important theme. In light of the apostasy of the hour, if the Holy Spirit were truly in control of the Bible societies, you can be assured that such a pamphlet would be produced and circulated by the hundreds of thousands.

CHAPTER FIVE

THE BIBLE SOCIETIES AND ROME

As we have noted, the Bible Societies have worked with the Roman Catholic Church in various ways since the early 1800s. These joint endeavors have become common place today. We will briefly trace the history and some main facts of this affiliation. It should be noted that the growth of this partnership has coincided closely with the proliferation of the new texts and versions of Scripture.

1800s

“The British and Foreign Bible Society was formed in 1804 and was soon supporting Roman Catholic projects: Roman Catholics also enjoyed the support of the BFBS. Soon after its founding, the BFBS sent funds to Bishop Michael Wittmann of Regensburg. When the Bavarian priest Johannes Gossner prepared a German translation of the New Testament, he too was supported by the BFBS. The main Catholic agent of the BFBS was, however, Leander van Ess, a priest and professor of theology at Marburg. ... The energetic van Ess distributed more than 500,000 copies of his New Testament with the aid of the BFBS” (Lion’s History of Christianity, pp. 557, 558).

“A booklet published by the American Bible Society acknowledged that Roman Catholics participated in the founding of some Bible societies in Europe. ... It is also acknowledged that Roman Catholic churchmen were invited to participate in the founding of the American Bible Society in 1816. This booklet was published in 1970” (Trinitarian Bible Society Quarterly Record, Jan.-Mar., 1979, p. 13).

“In 1825 the German Bible societies began including in their editions of the Bible the Apocrypha, a collection of books written between the periods covered by the Old and New Testaments [which the Roman Catholic Church accepts as part of the canon of Scripture]” (Lion’s History of Christianity, Lion Publishing, 1977, p. 558).

1960s

“The work of joint Bible translation and distribution between Protestants and Catholics was encouraged by ‘the Driebergen conference of Bible societies in June 1964, which was attended also by Roman Catholics. The chief recommendations of the conference were: to prepare a ‘common text’ of the Bible in the original languages, acceptable to all Churches, including Roman Catholics; and to explore the possibility of preparing a ‘common translation’ in certain languages, which could be used by Protestants and Roman Catholics alike. It was further recommended that the Bible societies should consider translating and publishing the Apocrypha when Churches specifically requested it’“ (Andrew Brown, The Word of God Among All Nations, p. 122).

“In 1965, the Second Vatican Council set a seal of approval on this form of co-operation. In the Constitution on Divine Revelation it was stated that ‘Easy access to sacred Scripture should be provided for all the Christian faithful.’ ... Further: ‘If given the opportunity and the approval of Church authority these translations are produced in co-operation with the separated brethren [non-Catholics] as well, as Christians will be able to use them.’ [The Documents of Vatican II, translated in W.M. Abbott—J. Gallagher, 1966, ‘Constitution on Divine Revelation’ VI/22]. These provisions meant that new translations did not have to be based on the Latin Vulgate, and inter-confessional co-operation was permitted” (Brown, op. cit., p. 122).

“One result of Vatican II was the setting up in 1966 of the Vatican Office for Common Bible Work ... An example of the new spirit of co-operation was soon found, in the revision of the Bible in Swahili. It was reported in 1966 that the Roman Catholic Tanganyika Episcopal Conference had reached agreement with the British and Foreign Bible Society on the use of the text of the Union Version of 1952, with the understanding that the Apocrypha would be included as well as selected notes and comments from the Jerusalem Bible [a Roman Catholic Version]. ... The BFBS thus again abandoned its former policy of excluding the Apocrypha, and notes and comments” (The Bible Translator, United Bible Societies, April 1966; The Word of God Among All Nations, pp. 123-124).

1966 was also the year in which the Bible society’s Today’s English Version New Testament was first published. It gained almost immediate acceptance by the Roman Catholic Church:

“The best-selling Bible translation in history has been cleared for use by Catholics as well as Protestants. It’s the so-called Today’s English Version of the New Testament published by the American Bible Society. ... The translation has received the official approval or imprimatur, of Cardinal Richard Cushing, the Catholic archbishop of Boston. It was Cardinal Cushing who earlier gave an imprimatur to the Protestant-sponsored Revised Standard Version. Protestant and Catholic scholars in recent years have reached substantial agreement on the translation of the Bible into English, and Cardinal Cushing’s expert consultants did not seek a single change in the text of the TEV before approving it for Catholic use” (United Press International report, Louis Cassels, Religious writer).

“In 1969 another development took place, with the formation of the World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate. The object of this organization was to co-ordinate the Bible translation work of Catholic scholars and facilitate their co-operation with the United Bible Societies” (Brown, op. cit., p. 124).

1970s

1975 was a big year for Bible distribution at the Vatican, and the Bibles being distributed were provided by the United Bible Societies.

“The Secretary of the Italian Bible Society reported that during 1975 Pope Paul VI distributed during his personal audiences 300,000 copies of the Epistle of James, specially prepared by the United Bible Societies and the World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate” (Trinitarian Bible Society Quarterly Record, Jul.-Sep. 1978, pp. 6-8).

By 1976, in the decade following the Second Vatican Council, more than one hundred and thirty inter-confessional translation projects had been undertaken, and more than fifty inter-confessional translations of the New Testament completed. Projects on complete Bibles included the Apocrypha. It also remained a requirement that translations prepared and published by Catholics “in co-operation with the ‘separated brethren’ should be accompanied by ‘suitable explanations’“ (The Word of God Among All Nations, p. 124).

It was in 1976 that the complete “common language” New Testament was published in Italian as a joint project of the United Bible Societies and a Catholic group with explicit Vatican approval.

“Bishop Ablondi said that two Catholic priests are working for the Italian Bible Society for the distribution of this New Testament, with the approval of their Bishop, and that the translation of the Old Testament started after a seminar held under the auspices of the United Bible Societies during June 1977. The Ludwigshafen assembly was informed that the Italian New Testament was presented to the Bishops attending the Synod in Rome as ‘an example of modern dynamic equivalent translation [actually referring to a very loose and careless paraphrase!], and as a model of interconfessional cooperation’“ (Trinitarian Bible Society Quarterly Record, op. cit.).

In 1978, the World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate made the following report:

“By 1977 the World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate has become a major instrument of the Catholic Church in the realization of the goal [of ecumenical Bible distribution], in particular with regard to co-operation with the United Bible Societies. ‘Each year witnesses to closer and more significant collaboration between these two organizations’“ (Activities Report 1977, World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate).

Among the thirty-one Religious Orders associated with the World Catholic Federation are the “Oblates of Mary Immaculate” in Italy and Germany, and the “Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help” in Korea (Activities Report 1977, World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate).

1977 also witnessed a Europe-wide Bible society conference attended by officials representing Catholic and Orthodox churches:

“Delegates from the whole of Europe met at the Ludwigshafen conference to discuss the future of the United Bible Societies. Monsignor Ablondi, Bishop of Livorno, Professor Tavares of the Catholic University of Lisbon, and representatives of the Greek Serbian and Rumanian Orthodox Churches, were present as full members of the assembly” (The Biblical Apostolate, VIII/2/78, quoted in Trinitarian Bible Society Quarterly Record, Jul.-Sep. 1978, pp. 6-8).

1978 witnessed the completion of several “interconfessional” translation projects between the United Bible Societies and the Roman Catholic Church. In that year, translations were completed in Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch, and German. All of these were “common language” versions, meaning they were based upon or modeled after the Bible society’s corrupt Today’s English Version (Good News Bible). Some of these were published with the apocryphal book and the addition of marginal notes and comments acceptable to the Roman Catholic Church (Trinitarian Bible Society Quarterly Record, Jul.-Sep. 1978, pp. 6-8).

In 1979, United Bible Societies leaders attending a Catholic conference in Mexico and pledged closer cooperation with Rome:

“The [Catholic] Third General Conference of the Latin American Episcopacy took place at Puebla, in Mexico, and was opened by Pope John Paul II. At the conference, representatives of the United Bible Societies participated in an ecumenical religious service, and also provided a Bible information stand and closely co-operated with the World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate. Regarding this co-operation, we are told: ‘It signifies an official recognition of the services being offered by the UBS and announces the beginning of a new era and a new spirit of collaboration at the service of God’s Word. It is the firm hope of the WCFBA [World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate] that this prophetic breakthrough has opened doors of communication and co-operation which will become a sign and instrument of the power of God’s Word to renew the continent’“ (Word-Event, United Bible Societies, No. 36, p. 27).

1980s

As of 1981, there were over 200 interconfessional translation projects in progress (C.B. Hastings, “Looking Closely at Complex Catholicism,” The Commission, Sept. 1982; The Commission is the official missions publication of the Southern Baptist Convention).

By 1981, over 500,000 copies of the Good News Bible, with the Apocryphal Books added, had been published and distributed by the American Bible Society (Foundation, Jul.-Aug. 1981).

By 1982, one Vatican secretariat sponsored more than a hundred full-time scholars in cooperation with the United Bible Societies in Scripture translation in many lands (Hastings, The Commission, Sept. 1982).

By 1984, “the pace had quickened, and it was reported that out of a total of 590 translation projects of the United Bible Societies, as many as 390 were of the interconfessional type” (Word-Event, United Bible Societies, No. 56, p. 28).

1986 was a high water mark in relations between the UBS and Rome. That was the year the UBS presented a copy of the new Italian interconfessional Bible to the Pope:

The Italian Bible Society recently presented Pope John Paul II with a copy of a new Italian interconfessional Bible in a ceremony at the Vatican. Italian President Francesco Cossaga has also received a copy in the presidential palace. Both Protestants and Catholics co-operated in translating the new Bible, which is the result of 7 years’ work. It has been published jointly by the Italian Bible Society and a Salesian publishing firm. ... The presentation of the Bible to Pope John Paul II was made by Luca Bertalot, the young grandson of the Italian Bible Society’s general secretary Revd Dr. Renzo Bertalot. United Bible Societies was represented by consultant to the UBS, Revd Dr Laton E. Holmgren.

Addressing the Pope, Dr. Holmgren said, ‘For the first time in four centuries the Bible is a bond of unity rather than a source of division. Despite differences of tradition, dedicated people are producing more and more common Bibles which are being used in scores of lands and languages.’

Pope John Paul replied, ‘Accept the warmest expression of my grateful appreciation for the result of your efforts. The task which you have undertaken is an important moment of collaboration. I ardently desire that it should not pass in vain, but that it truly produce a fertile rediscovery of our common base of origin. In returning to it, the entire Church cannot fail to benefit in rejuvenation, mutual cohesion and effective testimony to the world. I invoke the Lord’s blessing upon all of you and upon your work.’

The edition presented to the Pope carries the imprimatur (official Catholic approval) of the Bishop of Turin. ... Also present at the Vatican ceremony was Bishop Alberto Ablondi of Livorno, Italy, who is a member of the United Bible Societies General Committee and president of the World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate. Members of the Bible translation team attended with him.

Copies of a new Catholic Study Bible, which uses the Good News Bible text, were presented to guests at the ceremony. The Bible contains notes on the text approved by the Catholic Church and has been published by American publishers Thomas Nelson (“Pope Receives New Bible,” Word in Action, British and Foreign Bible Society, Spring, 1986, No. 49, p. 4).

RCC-UBS Partnership in the Philippines

The Philippines gives us an illustration of the close partnership that has developed between the United Bible Societies and the Roman Catholic Church. The following comes from The Bible Distributor, a UBS publication, and though it is a lengthy quotation, we believe it is important enough to include:

The collaboration of the Philippine Bible Society (PBS) with Roman Catholics began in 1967. After the Vatican II Council, Roman Catholics approached the PBS to request permission to use existing Bible Society Scriptures in local languages. Aware of the inadequacy of these old texts for the young people at that time, the Bible Society proposed instead a cooperative venture to produce local language Bibles that could be used by Protestants and Catholics alike, and which would be in contemporary, or popular, language.

To date, there are Bibles in six out of the eight major languages in the Philippines, and work is under way in the other two languages.

Any material intended for Roman Catholics has to be carefully planned, discussed and approved by both parties to ensure effective and meaningful distribution. It involves consultation and coordination with the established commissions of the Roman Catholic Church.

SINCE 1967, WHEN SCRIPTURE TRANSLATION PROJECTS IN POPULAR VERSIONS BEGAN IN THE PHILIPPINES, THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH HAS BEEN DELEGATING REPRESENTATIVES TO THE PHILIPPINE BIBLE SOCIETY through the Episcopal Commission on the Biblical Apostolate (ECBA). Planning and preparation is much easier today because of the Roman Catholic representation on the PBS Board of Directors. This Roman Catholic representation did not happen overnight. Amendments to the PBS By-Laws were gradually introduced by the PBS Board of Directors as they saw and understood more clearly the mission of the Bible Society in the country. ROMAN CATHOLIC MEMBERSHIP ON THE PBS BOARD HAS INCREASED FROM ONE OUT OF 11 MEMBERS IN 1979 TO FIVE OUT OF 18 MEMBERS TODAY. These Roman Catholic Board members help pave the way of joint cooperation between the PBS and the Roman Catholic Church ...

A total of 655,000 Bibles with deuterocanonicals and 1,426,000 New Testaments with the Roman Catholic Imprimatur have been produced and distributed in the past six years.

Efforts have been made to provide English Bibles which are acceptable to Roman Catholics; e.g. the following Bibles have been produced locally: Good news Bible with Deuterocanonicals ... New American Bible ... Jerusalem Bible...

Other material being produced for Roman Catholics in the Philippines are the Roman Catholic Daily Bible Reading Guide (RC DBRG) and the Lectionary. ... READINGS FROM THE LECTIONARY PRODUCED BY THE PHILIPPINE BIBLE SOCIETY ARE BASED ON THE POPULAR VERSION TRANSLATIONS AND ARE USED BY THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CLERGY DURING THE MASS. THEREFORE, IT PROMOTES THE USE OF DYNAMIC EQUIVALENT TRANSLATIONS, thus making the Word of God available in a language that people can easily understand. In the past five years, the Philippine Bible Society has distributed a total of 4,100,000 RC DBRG and 21,000 Lectionaries. ...

Establishing an effective working relationship between the PBS and the Roman Catholic Church requires a clear understanding of the mission of the Bible Society in the country in which it is situated. ... Serving the churches is one of the missions of the Bible Society. The ‘Church’ refers to all Christian churches in the country (Nathanael P. Lazaro, “Serving Roman Catholics in the Philippines,” The Bible Distributor, Oct.-Nov. 1986, pp. 8-11,13; Lazaro is Distribution Secretary of the Philippine Bible Society).

It is plain that the United Bible Societies are fully given to an unholy ecumenism. It matters not that the Roman Catholic Church preaches a false gospel that leads multitudes to Hell. It matters not that Roman Catholicism is filled with all sorts of doctrinal error. The UBS intends to “serve all churches” no matter what the Word of God says!

Roman Catholics in Leadership Positions with the United Bible Societies

In the 1970s a Catholic woman named Maria Teresa Porcile Santiso was employed full time by the United Bible Societies as directress of ecumenical affairs in the regional centre of Mexico (Word-Event, No. 36, p. 6).

“The new president of the WCFBA [World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate], the Right Reverend Monsignor Alberto Ablondi, is the Catholic Bishop of Livorno in Italy. Simultaneously he is a member of the General Committee and European Regional Executive Committee of the United Bible Societies, thus playing a part in the formulation and review of the UBS general policy” (Trinitarian Bible Society Quarterly Report, Oct.-Dec. 1985, p. 24).

“Among the UBS Vice-Presidents will be found the name of Dr. Francis Arinze, who is not only a Roman Catholic archbishop (of Onitsha in Nigeria) but has also recently been made a Cardinal by the Pope” (Ibid., p. 25).

Carlo Martini, Roman Catholic archbishop of Milan, is one of the editors of the United Bible Societies’ Greek New Testament.

We see from these quotes and observations that the United Bible Societies has drawn very close to the Roman Catholic Church in its work of Bible translation and distribution. Surely, it is more than a coincidence that since the days of the production of the English Revised Version (with its preference for the Vaticanus manuscript), the reversal of the Protestant Reformation has developed with amazing rapidity.

In the above quotes we see how the Bible societies distribute Bibles that contain the Catholic apocryphal books, which should not be a part of the Bible at all as they give no evidence of being inspired of God and have never been considered canonical by Bible-believing churches. On the trip to Calcutta mentioned earlier, I saw stacks of new Bibles that had recently arrived from America. They were published by the American Bible Society and contained the Catholic apocryphal books.

We also see that the Catholic Church has not given up its false teachings for the sake of these ecumenical Bible projects. The ecumenical movement is a one-way street as far as the Vatican is concerned, and that street leads straight to Rome! How clever the Roman Catholic leaders are! In these interconfessional translations, the United Bible Societies are providing money and personnel for the publication of Catholic Bibles, Bibles that contain the Catholic apocryphal books as well as notes promoting Roman doctrine.

One Catholic doctrine that is continually promoted is that of Mary. At the 1979 Third General Conference of the Latin American Episcopacy, opened by Pope John Paul II and attended by representatives of the United Bible Societies, the conference document contained a section entitled “Mary, the Mother and model of the Church.” It described Mary’s role in evangelism and mentions the false doctrines of Mary’s “Immaculate Conception” and bodily Assumption to Heaven (Trinitarian Bible Society Quarterly Record, Apr.-Jun. 1981, pp. 14-15).

These things present a sad and strange picture. Here are Bible societies dedicated to the publication of God’s Holy Word bending over backward to serve the apostate Roman Catholic Church that kept the Word of God from men for so many centuries. Could anything be stranger!

The United Bible Societies have even provided Scripture portions that the Pope gives away in his endless papal audiences, during which this false teacher woos, flatters, and deceives the steady stream of blinded people who come for his blessing and advice.

The attitude of the United Bible Societies toward the Roman Catholic Church, for the most part, is summed up in the policy of the Canadian Bible Society. “THE CANADIAN BIBLE SOCIETY CONSIDERS ITSELF TOTALLY AT THE SERVICE OF CATHOLIC BIBLE WORK” (Trinitarian Bible Society Quarterly Record, Jul.-Sep. 1978, pp. 6-8). Even the Pope could not desire more than this!

In 2 John and again in Revelation 18:4 we are warned that to fellowship with and assist false teachers is to become partakers of their evil deeds. No born again Christian should give even the smallest offering toward the Bible society’s work. If a born again Christian is in a church that fellowships with and supports the Bible societies, part of your tithes and offerings are going to support the evil we have been considering in this study.

“And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues” (Revelation 18:4).

THE BIBLE SOCIETIES ARE INTERCONNECTED: ALL MEMBER BODIES ARE THEREFORE PARTAKERS OF THESE EVILS

“The United Bible Societies organization was launched in 1946, and now coordinates the work of most of the world’s Bible societies, including the British and Foreign Bible Society, the National Bible Society of Scotland, the American Bible Society, and the Netherlands Bible Society, among others. It is, in effect, the ‘Bible society wing’ of the World Council of Churches” (Brown, The Word of God Among All Nations, p. 124).

One hundred different Bible societies belong to the United Bible Societies as of January 1985 (EP News Service, Jan. 25, 1985). All of these societies are tied together organizationally as well as spiritually. To support any one of the Bible societies is to support all of them. If a Christian in America supports the American Bible Society, he is not only aiding and abetting the error of that one society, but also that of other Bible Societies around the world.

I realize there are some born again people working with the Bible societies. Revelation 17-18 describes the apostate one world religion and one world government of the last hours of the church age. It is a picture of total apostasy and wickedness, yet the Bible says some true people of God are involved in these movements because God’s call is “Come out of her, MY PEOPLE, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues” (Revelation 18:4). Consider three simple lessons from this passage:

1. There are some saved people in the apostate End Times “church.”

2. God calls from Heaven to those who are saved, exhorting them to separate from the apostasy.

3. Those who ignore this call will be judged.

The decision is clear. The pressures of family, tradition, security, the unpopularity of a separate position, and many other things are brought to bear against the Christian who desires to be faithful to God in an apostate hour. God calls from Heaven and requires a complete separation from apostasy. Whom will we fear, God or man? To whose voice will we hearken, Heaven’s or the world’s?

“Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds” (2 John 8-11).

I believe it is clear by now that Unholy Hands on God’s Holy Book is an apt title for a report on the United Bible Societies.

CHAPTER SIX

FINAL CHALLENGE: A VOICE FROM THE PAST

Probably the greatest preacher of modern times was Charles Haddon Spurgeon of England. Spurgeon, writing in his publication, The Sword and the Trowel, September 1888, warned against those who would alter and pervert the Word of God. What he wrote in 1888 is urgently needed today. Listen to this man of God:

Every motive that could move men to alter the Word of God has been fully delineated in various portions of the Bible. It shows that God was aware from the first of the reception that would be given to His truth; and it is as instructing to the humble believer as it is humiliating to the modern lover of penknife criticism.

The tendency to alter the Word of God is HUMAN. It is manifested in the first religious conversation on record. The Divine voice had asserted “Thou  shalt not eat of it”; the human voice added “neither shall ye touch it.” The addition was the precursor of the fall.

The desire to alter the Word of God is DANGEROUS. In the wilderness God Himself points this out. “Ye shall not add unto the Word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it” (Deuteronomy 4:2). The nations they were advancing to conquer had long cast aside their allegiance to their Maker, and the least tendency to question or alter God’s Word might result in the same downfall for Israel. “Thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.” That idolatry does result from such daring rebellion is proved by the state of the Roman Catholic community today.

The act of altering the Word of God is SINFUL. “Add not unto His words, lest He reprove thee, and thou be found a liar” (Proverbs 30: 5,6) “Every word of God is pure”; and he who essays to improve upon it imputes error to the All-wise. Only unholy minds could attempt it.

The desire to alter the Word of God is WEAKNESS. Jeremiah’s was a terrible message, and even he might yield to feelings of pity for his race. God saw this, and in words that could not be misunderstood, He said to the prophet, “Diminish not a word” (Jer. 26:2). If God’s message is diminished its power is lessened, and its results are consequently less certain. The authority, the power, the meaning, the terror of God’s truth must be preserved in all their fulness if God’s purposes are to be carried out.

The ambition to alter the Word of God is PHARISAIC. To break the perfection of the law and teach our own alterations or additions as if they were of God is vile indeed (Matthew 5:19,20). Our Lord reproved this spirit in scathing and unmistakable language. Why is it His Words are forgotten? “Ye have made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition,” He says. “They teach for doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:6-9). The Pharisaic spirit thus renders impossible obedience to God the Supreme Teacher.

The craving to alter the Word of God is ACCURSED. Revelation 2:18-19 should be read with fear and trembling. Thus all down the ages God has warned men against this crime. He is a jealous God, and has determined to visit with the direst punishment all who dare to alter His completed and full revelation.

This is the crime of the present day: the Lord preserve us from it.

Return to Part I of Unholy Hands on God's Holy Book